Brawl Fall 1996: Steven Seagal

Since seeing Kurt Russell at Beyond Fest a couple months ago I've been revisiting his vast body of work like Tombstone, Captain Ron, Stargate, Big Trouble In Little China, Unlawful Entry, Miracle, Sky High and the 1996 classic action thriller Executive Decision. I'd nearly forgotten that Steven Seagal gets high billing but is killed off in the film's first act. Remember when I told you my theory that Dammaged Goods style action movies died in 1996? The kind starring charismatic, physical heroes who took care of the job with machine guns, muscles, martial arts and one liners? To refresh your memory, check out my piece on Sylvester Stallone, who along with Arnold Schwarzenegger, ushered in a cottage brand of action flick in the 80's and paved the way for lesser cinematic icons Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme. While no other action star would reach the heights of the two kings, mysterious Aikido expert and would be CIA agent Seagal nearly got there after bursting onto the scene with 1988's Warner Brothers starring vehicle Above the Law with no prior acting experience. The sub-$10 million flick grossed nearly $20 million.

Before that, Seagal had the distinction of allegedly being the first non-Japanese to open his own Aikido studio in the mother land. Working in Hollywood it's rumored that he broke Sean Connery's wrist while training the James Bond star for Never Say Never Again and impressed uber agent Michael Ovitz who got Seagal in with Warner Brothers. While Jean-Claude Van Damme toiled with low budget filmmakers, independent studios, first time directors, no name casts and $1 million budgets, Seagal had a major studio behind him and familiar faces beside him his first time out. Follow up Hard to Kill more than doubled Law's take and audiences were hooked on the tall, often pony tailed hero who spoke in whispers and took out dozens without ever taking a punch with painful looking joint locks and throws. Fight scenes in Seagal movies always elicited real groans and winces as it looked like people really got slammed into the floor or through a table. Seagal's "aura of invincibility" went with his mysterious past as a martial arts instructor in Japan coupled with his own hints of working with or for the CIA.

By 1992, Warner Brothers had already produced or distributed three of Seagal's four titles and backed Under Siege, a reported $35 million, Die Hard style actioner set on a battle ship. Above the Law director Andrew Davis had already lent a bit of class to Chuck Norris with Code of Silence before doing the same for Seagal on Law and was recruited for a second run. As former Navy S.E.A.L. turned cook Casey Ryback, Seagal fights, shoots, stabs and sabotages his way through a terrorist takeover lead by more than capable actors like Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. A true action classic, Under Siege would open to $15 million opening weekend, good enough for the 9th largest of the year on it's way to an $83 million U.S. take and $156 million worldwide. Now on top of the world, Seagal would exercise his spirit and ego on his next film, the ecological themed On Deadly Ground, which he would also produce and direct. The $50 million Alaska set film takes on oil cartels and Inuit treatment head on while ending with a monologue by the star discussing how the world is dying. A noble endeavor but the film would gross less than half of Under Siege and earn few critical marks.

With success always comes controversy and rumors of Seagal's prickly attitude and unbelievable ego on and off set began to surface. A dispute with writers on Marked for Death, kicking Gary Busey off the sequel to Under Siege, thinking he could easily deliver an Academy Award winning performance if Hollywood hadn't pigeonholed him, taking potshots at JCVD on late night TV, misrepresenting the tribal nations people of Alaska, being accused of sexual harassment, Seagal's quick rise to the top was now catching up to him. Warner's had signed him to a four picture deal but pumped the brakes on Ground as the budget swelled to reevaluate. They also wanted any budget overages on 1995's $50-60 million Under Siege 2: Dark Territory to come out of the leading man's $10 million salary. Territory would hardly recapture the spirit, scale or excitement of the original but would still gross a solid $100 million worldwide.

But 1996's Executive Decision marked the beginning of the end. Long had Seagal carried a film as a super badass who never got hurt but now in Decision, he was making room for the guy who couldn't fight or shoot, the glasses wearing, tuxedo sporting analyst Kurt Russell. We see Seagal and his commando team slashing throats and taking out bad guys right away but it's Russell's smarts that save the day and stop a plane full of nerve agent from crashing into Washington D.C. While Seagal sacrifices himself for the mission and dies 40 minutes in, his career would never be the same. Warner Brothers fully backed Executive Decision with a reported $55 million budget, in house super producer Joel Silver (Die Hard, Lethal Weapon) was behind the scenes and legendary company editor Stuart Baird (Superman, Gorillas in the Mist) was making his directorial debut. I'm sure it was a shock in 1996 to see THE Steven Seagal get killed in the film but by the end you kind of forget he was even in it.

1996 follow up The Glimmer Man, a $45 million buddy picture with Keenan Ivory Wayans that he starred, produced and wrote music for, would gross a paltry $20 million compared to Decision's $69 million. 1997's  Fire Down Below, another big budget action movie with an environmental message, would only bring in $16 million, $3 million less than Above the Law had nearly 10 years earlier but with $40 million more budget. By 1998 the party was truly over as The Patriot went Direct to Video. Joel Silver would provide some career juice with 2001's Exit Wounds that was part of a short stint of martial artists paired with rappers that also gave us Jet Li's Romeo Must Die and Cradle 2 the Grave. From there it mainly DTV fare with Seagal gaining more and more weight but appearing in the films less and less with filmmakers not caring if the audience could tell they were using a double or not. Seagal would crank out 2-3 films a year and still command a $5 million fee while dealing with FBI investigations, private investigators and very public lawsuits from former associates that hinted at mafia involvement.

As the home video market fell out in the 2000's, Seagal's output stayed steady as budgets got smaller and schedules shorter. A stint on reality TV followed with the short lived Steven Seagal: Lawman as the fully commissioned deputy performed his civic duty for the Sheriff's office in Louisiana. A villainous turn in Robert Rodriguez's Machete marked a return to cinemas after a near 9 year layoff. Seagal hasn't lacked for work though as he's released SIX films in 2016 alone. His latest, Contract to Kill comes out this weekend and features none other than Dammaged Goods favorite Russell Wong so it will be the first Seagal flick I've actively watched in years. Now "put your hands up!".

Gotta Go! Houston

 
Earlier this summer I spent a week in Houston, Texas for work. I'd never been to the 4th most populated city in the country but prepared in true Dammaged Goods fashion by viewing locally shot films Sidekicks and I Come In Peace! The Jonathan Brandis-Chuck Norris flick Sidekicks was funded by a local furniture magnate and really shows off the city's skyline and parks while Dolph Lundgren fighting an alien drug dealer I Come In Peace gives you grittier look at strip clubs and abandoned factories. Being later in the summer it wasn't too hot but it was still pretty steamy. As in I walked outside after a morning workout and my glasses fogged over steamy.

 
I was impressed with the sheer size of the city and the big skies were absolutely beautiful. Being so large you had different sections like Uptown, Downtown and popular suburbs Oak Forest, Pearland and Katy. Everything is named twice with Goode Company BBQ across from a Goode Company Seafood, or two Westin's by the Galleria mall on the same street. Food wise nearly every place we went to served something chicken fried like steak or bacon and with country gravy on top! Which was awesome. There was the fantastic Whataburger chain along with a new spot for me, Cane's Chicken Fingers which was also delicious. We found several dive bars nearby like The Railyard, Revolver Bourbon Social who had mules and chicken fried bacon and Ron's Pub, which offered free chili dogs randomly, they were tasty though and I had a nice conversation with a local patron who had served in Vietnam.

We got out early one day and headed a quick 30 minutes out to NASA! The original mission control still stands, complete with viewing room with ash trays on the viewing room seats containing decades old ashes. Staff said that Ron Howard's production crew took a massive amount of photos and measured EVERYTHING. The tour includes stops at old computer command centers and a look at one of the Saturn rockets! Then back at home base you can check out dozens of suits, photos, exhibits and hands on experiments. All in I was quite the good time in Houston and if it wasn't so hot, maybe I'd consider living there!

What the Chuck?! Sidekicks

Chuck Norris' cinematic prime came a bit before my youth. For me it was Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme movies while Norris I recognized from Missing in Action and The Delta Force reruns on TBS and his hit show Walker, Texas Ranger on CBS. But as a martial arts training youth reading Black Belt magazine, Norris was never far from my eyes. I recall seeing 1992's Sidekicks at the local discount theater and enjoying it. The gold boxed VHS is part of my collection and once when my brother asked for my iPhone upgrade, I said he could have it if he brought Sidekicks to California from our Ohio home. He did. Jim from Cinematic Void screened a trailer for the flick with Silent Rage which of course gave me a hankering to watch the film again. We meet lovable, asthmatic dreamer Barry (Jonathan Brandis, View in Peace) at school, day dreaming during class that he's Chuck Norris' high kicking sidekick in recreations of Missing In Action, a ninja flick, a western, movies I don't think Norris actually ever starred in, The Hitman and more. Barry's computer programmer from Pittsburgh dad Jerry (Beau Bridges) is struggling to stay close to his son after the death of his wife. Local teacher and supporter Noreen (Julia Nickson) thinks she can help, enlisting newly arrived uncle Mr. Lee (Mako) to teach Barry martial arts.

Mako isn't quite as hard a task master as say Bloodsport's Shidoshi Tanaka or sadistic as The Karate Kid's Kreese and puts Barry through paces like running, chins, nunchaku drills and breaking bricks. Soon Barry doesn't even need his inhaler, catches the eye of dreamy classmate Lauren (Danica McKellar) and stands up to karate trained bully Randy (John Buchanan). By the end of the film at a giant karate tournament, Barry meets his hero Chuck Norris in real life as they compete on the same team in an inspiring if wholly unbelievable scenario. But that's the point of Sidekicks, dreams do come true if you believe in them enough and never give up. Directed by Chuck's brother Aaron with a script from Lou Illar and Galen Thompson, Sidekicks is a fun and more or less harmless piece of martial arts action comedy. Known for his R rated fare, Sidekicks opens up Norris' audience to kids and employs some very juvenile yuks as bad guys get blown up with bubble gum and there's lots of kicks, flips, gunfire and throwing stars but no blood or death. There's also a really fake looking yet educational rope climbing scene where Barry seemingly talks to himself in front of the entire class as imaginary Chuck shows him how to use his legs and tells us he hates the word "can't".

Produced via Mark Damon's Vision PDG, Sidekicks like fellow studio project Dark Angel/I Come In Peace before it was shot in and around Houston with Lamar High School standing in for itself along with the convention center and several nice looking parks, one with a waterfall. The film still holds up with solid production values that cover half a dozen day dream sequences, entertaining action and hands down Norris' best supporting cast ever that includes Beau Bridges, Jonathan Brandis, Mako, Julia Nickson, Joe Piscopo (buff and sporting a mullet), McKellar, Richard Moll and Gerrit Graham. Alan Silvestri provides a memorably playful guitar and drum heavy score. Norris carries the story but not directly, mainly popping up in action sequences then dropping a few bits of knowledge and encouragement on Brandis' Barry. For the most part it's an adopted family affair meets coming of age with light romance and a few training scenes with Brandis, Mako, Bridges, Nickson and McKellar.

By the early 90's, Norris had burst into the cinematic scene with low budget karate hits like Breaker! Breaker!, Good Guys Wear Black and A Force of One. Cannon Films backed the bearded badass with healthy budgets and paydays for Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A. and Hero and the Terror to diminishing box office returns. Sidekicks was partially funded by local Houston mattress icon Jim McIngvale who invested $9 million for production and a further $7 million for advertising. Sidekicks would open in limited release on April 9th with a grassroots wide release following on April 30th. Taking a page from future President Bill Clinton, the producers booked Norris on a trail of personal appearances at theaters and on local news, meeting fans and signing autographs. The gambit paid off as Sidekicks grossed a respectable $17 million at the U.S. box office, his highest take since 1986's The Delta Force. Norris' theatrical days were numbered as 1994's Hellbound and '96's Top Dog would close out his starring vehicle days. On the small screen however, Norris would appear on 196 episodes of Walker between 1993 and 2001.

Director Aaron Norris would stick close to brother Chuck, mainly working on Walker and popping up as a stuntman in last year's Ant-Man. Sidekicks is co-writer Illar's only credit while Thompson would work with Norris on several projects before his death in 2011. Familiar face Mako starred opposite the likes of Steve McQueen, Arnold and Sean Connery in his 160 acting credits before passing in 2006. Working as an actor since he was 5, Jonathan Brandis became a teen magazine cover staple after appearances in It, Lady Bugs, The Never Ending Story II and Starquest: DSV. But transitioning from an androgynous teen heart throb to leading man proved more difficult. As work dried up, Brandis was said to have become depressed and at only 27, committed suicide in his Hollywood apartment building. Nunchuk in Peace, Brandis, I always enjoyed your work.

Ask Me a Question: Silent Rage

On Saturday night it was off to Hollywood for a Dammaged Goods co-presentation of 1982's Silent Rage, the Chuck Norris anomaly that pits the karate kicking tough guy against a Frankenstein-esque turned 80's slasher villain. Stopping off at favorite spot Boardner's, it was surprisingly packed for 5:30 PM on a Saturday. Turns out George, a former actor who was a bartender there, passed away and it was a memorial service for him. He was in Smokey and the Bandit which played on the bar TV's. After some snacks and whiskey gingers, it was over to The Egyptian to set up for Silent Rage where David J Moore had a plethora of lobby cards and posters featuring Norris, Stallone, Schwarzenegger and more. When Cinematic Void programmer Jim reached out to me to co-present, I contacted writer Joseph Fraley who agreed to participate. From there, producer Anthony B. Unger caught wind of the evening and attended with his family and someone passed along contact info for director Michael Miller. While Miller was unable to attend, I had a terrific chat with the amiable filmmaker who started in Chicago with Harold Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray before moving to Los Angeles and catching the eye of Roger Corman. 1976's Jackson County Jail starred a young a Tommy Lee Jones and was a bit of a breakthrough for Miller.

Following service in the Air Force and countless wins in karate tournaments, Chuck Norris appeared opposite Bruce Lee in The Way of the Dragon in 1972 before starring in hits like Breaker! Breaker!, Good Guys Wear Black and The Octagon. Silent Rage was said to be his first studio film for Columbia and shot around Dallas. Producer Unger recalls the studio stating they wanted an action picture for Easter and Silent Rage was it. So it was a great coincidence that we were screening the film on Easter weekend 30 some years later. Writer Joseph Fraley had studied Shotokan karate in the 60's when martial arts hadn't made a big splash in the states before serving in Vietnam. He met Norris and hit it off, with the future cinematic tough guy frequently making peanut butter and jelly sammiches with the crusts cut off for Fraley's young son. Fraley wrote Good Guys Wear Black and years later was telling Norris about some studies of reptiles who regrow limbs and how that would be interesting for a villain in a film. That simple idea lead to Silent Rage in the era of supernatural villains in Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street.

We gave out a signed VHS of Good Guys Wear Black to kick things off. Jim programmed a great pre-show featuring Chuck Norris and the Karate Kommando's clips, PSA's and trailers for Fraley's Good Guys, Unger's Don't Look Now and Norris' awesome flick Sidekicks (View in Peace Mako and Jonathan Brandis). I hadn't seen Silent Rage in it's entirety ever so the screening would more or less be new to me. We meet Brian Libby as John Kirby, a disturbed young man under treatment of Dr. Tom Halman (Ron Silver) and Dr. Spires (Steven Keats) in a long shot through a house. Kirby cracks and kills a young mother before tussling with Sheriff Dan Stevens (Norris) and getting shot down. But Spires injects Kirby with an untested serum that heals wounds nearly immediately but renders Kirby a mute killer who goes after Halman and his sister Alison (Toni), who happens to be an ex of Stevens. Stephen Furst shows up as Stevens' portly police co-hort and provides comic relief. Norris' films always have a nice sense of humor and Rage continues the trend with Chuck being pretty easy going and a smooth talker with the lady, complete with a hilarious detour to a sex scene and relationship building sequence. There's also a giant bar room fight scene where Norris dispatches a dozen goons with karate kicks, spinning backfists and a broken window.

It was during the big fight sequence that reels had to be changed in the Spielberg so programmer and co-host Grant put on a ridiculous one man fight scene where he punched, threw and flipped himself all over the place culminating in Jim show slugging him with a piece of wood. It definitely made the night even more memorable as the crowd was enthusiastic and having fun. After the film, I shared some quick bites from Miller who remembers the film fondly and is proud of the uncut opening sequence that was his nod to Francis Ford Coppola and Akira Kurosawa. Unger and Fraley joined Jim for Q&A where they discussed how the film came together. While Fraley was close friends with Norris, both Unger and Miller found him charming and professional along with being a heck of a martial artist. The film shot in Dallas with the help of production manager Paul Lewis who kept things on track. Unger joked that Walker, Texas Ranger would borrow several elements from Rage and Fraley recalled that the film was number one at the box office two weeks in a row. A sequel was discussed but never materialized. Unger recalled the film wasn't expensive or cheap and they did not skimp on crew. Most of Furst's dialog was improvised and Unger and Miller would both work with the funnyman on other projects.

Unger and Fraley talked about how important karate was to Chuck's image and Columbia's original marketing materials emphasized action and showed him in a black gi even though he never dons one in the movie. Miller had mentioned he surrounded Norris with strong New York actors with Unger and Fraley both paying tribute to the deceased Ron Silver. Silver was great in the film, intense yet sympathetic with a bit of an Al Pacino thing going on. It was a fun night with great guests and a fantastic audience. After the film I got to hear about Christmas parties at Charlie Bronson's house. I can't even imagine.

Damme Words: Bronson's Loose Again!

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I demolished Paul Talbot's Bronson's Loose Again! On the Set with Charles Bronson, a new companion volume to his original Chuck Bronson and Death Wish study released in 2006. Through in depth interviews old and exclusive with writers, actors, producers, directors and more, Talbot provides a fascinating look at the iconic movie star and 18 of his films from the mid-1970's to his final performance in 1999. A large chunk of the book looks at his infamous Cannon Films period where the stone faced onscreen tough guy churned out schlocky money makers for Go-Go producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. I hadn't read Loose as Death Wish has never been my favorite Bronson flick and I've never even seen the sequels. But now I'll have to do both as Loose Again is a terrific, informative and interesting read on one of my favorite movie personalities.

Hard Times is far and away my favorite Bronson leading vehicle and there's some great stuff here on the making of the Great Depression set, New Orleans street fighting tale. Each chapter gives you insight on the development, production and release of each film along with personal encounters with the man himself. After already reading the excellent Menacing Face Worth Millions: A Life of Charles Bronson by Brian D'Ambrosio and seeing multiple interviews, I was well aware of Bronson's standoffish attitude and sometimes off-putting lack of social effort. Some of my favorites from Loose Again include Bronson putting his hands on the back and chest of a co-star to move him off a sidewalk to size him up and telling a fan he didn't take photos, sign autographs or shake hands. While it's funny and awesome to read, in real life if that happened to you, you'd think that guy was a total dick. But he was who he was so I can respect it. A little more light is shed into his workout regimen that built an impressive physique that includes having a cup of coffee upon rising and going on a two mile run. A second, evening two miles would be added to reach optimal condition. Climbing a rope only using his arms is repeated but a strict diet of small meals with a weekly or monthly indulgent steak dinner may explain why he was so grumpy, is revealed.

As he got older, Bronson seemed to mellow out as many co-stars from the 80's mention becoming friends with him and the star being nothing but warm and supporting. While Bronson was a star worldwide, he never quite got his due in America. With his career waning, Bronson would end up making several films with Cannon Films, collecting a hefty $1 million bucks per flick for the likes of Death Wish sequels, 10 to Midnight and Messenger of Death. Only needing his face on a poster to insure foreign pre-sales, Bronson was one of the biggest stars of the emerging mini-studio along with martial artist Chuck Norris. A teaming of the two was planned for The Delta Force but pre-sales didn't justify the salaries of both Chucks. Through it all, Bronson never tried to produce his own vehicles like Steve McQueen or Kirk Douglas but preferred to play what audiences expected him to, a quiet ass kicker ready to explode.

Loose Again also provides insight on wife and frequent co-star Jill Ireland who was the kind and outgoing energy to Bronson's grumbling, perennially pissed off side. Bronson's inner nice guy is exposed as we learn about his homeless drug addict brother and adopting a family friend after her parents died among other snippets. All in a great book for action movie junkies or film buffs alike. Until next time, no dice! And this ain't ova!

Tell Me a Question: Sheldon Lettich & The Summer of Max Cannon

Dammaged Goods recently caught up with Sheldon Lettich, the writer, director and military veteran who has contributed to such cinematic classics Bloodsport, Lionheart, Rambo III and Double Impact. It was a busy summer for our friend and first event guest with Warner Brothers' dog of war flick MAX hitting theaters in June while Cannon Films documentary Electric Boogaloo premiered across the country and is now available on DVD. In October, Mr. Lettich heads to San Diego for the G.I. Film Festival for a special screening of MAX being held at the Midway Museum.

MAX did solid box office, beating out titles with more hype and higher watt casts like Entourage, Aloha, Hot Pursuit and Paper Towns. Any expectations going into opening weekend?

We were getting industry projections that it would make between $8-10 million for the opening weekend.  Instead we made $12.2 million.  The folks at MGM said they would be happy if the film grossed $40 million in the US.  To date we've grossed nearly $43 million.  So overall we're all pretty happy with the results.  Had our PG-rated movie not been book-ended by two PG-rated behemoths -- Inside Out and Minions -- I think we might have done even better.  Even so, MGM is in the process of developing a sequel with Boaz Yakin and myself, a sure sign that they're happy with the results.

There's real heart in the film with the family and military dynamics. When was the first time you saw it with an audience?

We had a test screening in November of 2014.  The movie scored 100% in the Very Good to Excellent categories, which is an extremely rare occurrence for test screenings.  It was a great experience for me to sit there with that audience (the first time I had actually seen the entire movie without interruptions) and to see and hear them reacting to the movie exactly as we had hoped they would, laughing at the gags and the funny lines, wiping away tears during the funeral scene.  There was applause a number of times during the screening, and especially big applause at the end.

You're getting ready to attend the G.I. Film Festival in San Diego with a screening at the Midway Museum no less, what did you take away from the U.S. Marine Corps that helped you in life and in your career?

I took away a lot of stories and experiences which I have recycled back into numerous screenplays -- most of which have never been produced.  I wrote a Vietnam screenplay many years ago titled Firebase, which I got a lot of mileage out of as a writing sample.  That's the screenplay that got me introduced to Sylvester Stallone and resulted in an overall deal with his company.  It got me the co-writing gig on Rambo III.

Aside from story ideas and familiarity with military terminology, hardware, structure, mindset, slang, tactics, etc., as an NCO (non-commissioned officer) I learned some valuable lessons about leadership which came in very handy when I began directing movies.

You also popped up in Electric Boogaloo: The Wild Untold Story of Cannon Films and attended the star and crew studded Los Angeles premiere. Do you recall how you got involved with Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus?

As I recall, I was first introduced to them by Leon Isaac Kennedy, who was involved with them on Penitentiary 2 and Body & Soul.  I had written a screenplay with Leon which was originally intended to be a sequel to Lone Wolf McQuade, the Chuck Norris film Leon had co-starred in. When he failed to get Chuck interested, Leon and I changed the title to Stryker's Force, and then tried to get the movie made at Cannon with Leon and Jean-Claude Van Damme co-starring.  Menahem liked the script and approved me as the director, but he did not want Van Damme to be the co-star.  This was before Bloodsport had been released, and at the time Menahem had little faith in the film doing well and even less faith in Van Damme ever making it as a movie star.  He wanted to make the movie, but with Michael Dudikoff starring instead (with Leon playing the co-lead).  I met with Michael, who had read the script but wasn't crazy about it.  The project sort of fell by the wayside after that. 

Then, after Bloodsport opened and did spectacularly well, Menahem did a complete 180 regarding his opinion about Van Damme.  Now he felt that Leon wasn't a big enough star to be the co-lead alongside Van Damme! 

I talked a lot about Menahem and Van Damme and Bloodsport when Mark Hartley interviewed me on-camera for the documentary.  In fact, I told that same story about Menahem and Leon and Van Damme.  Mark told me he had put together an entire segment about Bloodsport for the documentary, but at the last minute there was some kind of a legal snafu involving the rights to Bloodsport, and the lawyers at Warner Brothers told Mark he had to yank the entire segment.  Really a shame.  Bloodsport was one of Cannon's biggest surprise hits, but there's nothing at all about it in the documentary, except one very quick shot of Van Damme throwing a kick at Bolo Yeung.  Who knows, maybe Mark will manage to sneak it in as a special feature on some future Blu-ray?

You co-wrote Bloodsport and met Jean-Claude Van Damme, beginning a long and successful collaboration. What was it like in those early days? Did you feel like the film would be something special? 

Jean-Claude and myself and many of the people who were involved with the film felt we had something very special on our hands, but unfortunately the folks at Cannon Films did not feel the same.  Despite their misgivings, the film did spectacularly well when it was released.  I had actually tried to bet Menahem that the movie would do better than his pet project at the time, Braddock: Missing In Action 3.  His response to me was "You're dreaming, my friend!"  Well, history had proven that my prediction -- my "dream" -- was correct.  MIA3 grossed $6.2 million at the US box office, while Bloodsport grossed $12 million, almost double.  Since then it has never stopped making money.  I'm still getting residuals to this very day.

Many thanks to Mr. Lettich for taking the time to chat, he's a great storyteller and be on the look out for more Dammaged Goods presents events soon. Until then, Sheldon will be appearing at the USS Midway Museum for MAX on Friday, 10.16 at 7:00 PM. The G.I. Film Festival runs Tuesday, 10.13 through Sunday, 10.18 and showcases documentaries, narrative features and films from local artists.

Grudgement Day: Paul Bettany VS Jason Statham

It's been a love-not love summer for Jason Statham and Marvel as rumors swirled that he was up for the role of Bullseye in Netflix's second season of Daredevil. It seems like it was an unfounded piece of gossip as The Punisher and Elektra have been announced thus far with no mention of the crazy and accurate assassin. In June while promoting comedy Spy, Statham expressed his disdain for Marvel films and tentpoles that rely on green screen, stunt doubles and $200 million dollar budgets as he's inspired by old school action heroes and in this day and age, you could put his grandma in a cape and put her into the action. Incredible Hulk Mark Ruffalo laughed it off with a faux throw of the gauntlet while actual caped Marvel hero The Vision aka Paul Bettany appeared on Conan O'Brien and admitted he was an actor and would let stunt men do their job while suggesting Statham get an acting double. It was all in jest with Jennifer Connelly's husband claiming he wouldn't want to run into the Stath but of course, the ol' internet saw it as a "slam" or "bitch slap". Going back to their original comments, you can clearly see it's just a usual case of getting worked up for nothing. Statham's comments are not untrue as you literally could take anyone and using CGI, stunt doubles, editing, green screen and a good choreographer, put them into the middle of an action scene. But not everyone can do a fight, flips or spills in a single, large shot. But it does shine an interesting light on our current view of what makes a leading man.

To me, it hearkened back to Sylvester Stallone claiming that Michael Keaton strapping on fake muscles for Batman effectively changed cinemas perspective of being heroic. While guys like Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and Clint Eastwood oozed machismo and were physical, they weren't the bodybuilding action heroes of the 80's that Sly, Arnold and Jean-Claude Van Damme ushered in. Along with icons of the era like Chuck Norris, Carl Weathers, Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren, each of these cinematic tough guys had a background anchored in sports and physicality. Beefy muscles became cliche and more athletic everyman heroes like Keanu Reeves, Nicolas Cage and Matt Damon took center stage. Yet now everyone is in shape again and taking their shirts off on camera. Chris Pratt became a leading man because he dropped 60 pounds. Brad Pitt still looked great for a scene in Fury. Chris Hemsworth and Evans always have a moment in their Marvel films to show off the goods and even serious actor Robert Downey Jr. has to hit the gym for Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes. Hugh Jackman's hulking transformations into Wolverine have defined his career. The only difference is, none of these guys could kick you in the face or break blocks of ice with their bare hands.

On the flip side, is Jason Statham a bad actor or simply typecast as a growling smart ass? As with anyone on the above list, stars become stars because viewers like them in a specific type of role. From Stallone gaining weight and going back to drama for Copland or Jim Carrey ditching laughs for The Truman Show to Hemsworth playing funny in Vacation, no actor wants to constantly repeat himself. It would be nice to see Statham in a light ensemble piece like Snatch or The Italian Job again but those lower budget action fests probably pay him a lot better. He did show some smarts by playing opposite Melissa McCarthy in Spy and took on The Rock for Furious 7 this summer. Paul Bettany has worked with everyone from Peter Weir to Ron Howard opposite Johnny Depp and Tom Hanks but has he ever had his name above a title? A quick search on Facebook shows Statham has 52 million fans while Bettany tops out at...62 THOUSAND. Perhaps Statham can go back to his character actor roots as he gets older while Bettany continues to be a respected character actor that will never be a star. In the end, they're both doing just fine.

Ask Me a Question: Electric Boogaloo

It's going to be a crazy weekend with the two part He-Man event and things kicked off in appropriate fashion with a screening of Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films over at the Landmark Theatre. On the way in, I introduced myself to the American Ninja himself, Michael Dudikoff! Joe Armstrong was looking sharp, still in shape and very gracious. Cannon trailers for Death Wish sequels, Invasion U.S.A. and more warmed up the audience where you could spot familiar faces at every glance. Written and directed by Mark Hartley and produced by Veronica Fury and Brett Ratner, Boogaloo tells the story of two movie loving Israeli immigrants Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus who changed Hollywood with their Go-Go approach to movie making with a focus on product and hype versus story and taste. Over 100 former executives, script readers, actors, directors and producers were interviewed for the flick that is a breezy, funny and informative 100 minutes that serves as both an inspirational and cautionary tale. Schlock is always a term used to describe Cannon's output of titles that usually involved sex, nudity, horror and action. Films like The Last American Virgin, Breakin', Death Wish 2-5, Missing In Action, Lifeforce, Over the Top, Runaway Train, Bloodsport and Masters of the Universe would define their eclectic output of big and small titles, always looking to break out.

Interviewees look back with a sense of fondness and hilarity at the ridiculousness of the era where junk bonds financed Cannon's slate and the two cousins were known as charming, overly passionate film fans and expert salesmen. So much that the Cannes film festival was nicknamed the Cannon film festival during their heyday as they promoted so many films and closed so many deals. Stars like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris anchored their stable of stars that would also include Dudikoff, Lucinda Dickey, Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Forster, Franco Nero, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone and many more. While filmmakers like Sam Firstenberg, Tobe Hooper, Michael Winner, John Frankenheimer and Cassavetes and Franco Zeffirelli spent their cash. While in those days studios were putting out 8-12 films a year, Cannon cranked out dozens, many of the low budget and near exploitation variety. Even when they had a good movie like Runaway Train or Otello, people wouldn't give them credit. But the lack of quality control and never stopping to assess the situation seemed to spell their doom. After expanding too quickly, buying up cinema chains and financing films that flopped, Cannon eventually could not keep up with their debts and Golan and Globus parted ways in a less than amicable split. The film does a great job of setting up who the two mini-moguls were, their personalities, vision, success and eventual failure. More than one participant had to put their foot down to get paid from time to time but the money was never going into the pockets of the producers, rather back into the film. Boogaloo is a terrific look back at a long bygone era that produced some truly memorable movies. The flick hits DVD on Tuesday, 9.29 and comes with 30 minutes of Cannon trailers along with 20 some minutes of deleted scenes. Can't wait!

After the film, producer and financier Brett Ratner took the microphone and introduced an awesome panel that included director Hartley, editor Mark Helfrich, director Sam Firstenberg, actress Dickey and Michael Dudikoff. A shoutout to audience members and Cannon alumni like Sheldon Lettich, James Bruner and Diane Franklin among many more. Ratner has always seemed like a chill guy but his asking the panel to tell a story not in the film was not the greatest way to moderate:

- Ratner loved Diane Franklin in The Last American Virgin so much, he ended up dating lookalike Rebecca Gayheart for 13 years and nearly marrying her.
- Mark Helfrich was an assistant editor who would go in and fix things at night the actual editors messed up. Lead to a career long association with likes of Ratner and Craig Baxley.
- Firstenberg worked with Golan and Globus at their company prior to Cannon as a messenger and worked his way up to directing Revenge of the Ninja, Ninja III, Breakin' 2, American Ninja 1 & 2.
- It always sounded like Golan and Globus were arguing in Hebrew when they were usually just talking about what to eat for lunch.
- Lucinda Dickey was a gymnast and classical dancer turned green actress who signed a deal with Cannon but retired after the Breakin' series and Ninja III to raise a family. Apparently did not get along overly well with Sho Kosugi or her Breakin' co-stars at the time.
- Michael Dudikoff had been a contract player at Paramount doing comedy, got called in to Cannon's offices, which were quite dingy and sloppy, became one of their poster boys and would be "James Dean" of the company. Had to play hardball to get paid for a few projects but overall felt like he was part of the family and treated well.
- Cannon always wanted to be first when it came to similar movies and would push projects into production at the drop of a hat. If you landed a meeting, there was a 90% chance you'd leave with a deal. One filmmaker threatened to cut his fingers off if his film wasn't made.
- Boaz Davidson, John Thompson and Avi Lerner would go on to build a modern Cannon Films, Nu Image. Lerner offered Ratner $10 million bucks to direct a Hercules movie but wouldn't specify how much would be left to make the movie. Ratner declined and set up his own Hercules project with The Rock. Lerner asked him to shoot it at their studio in Bulgaria, when Ratner declined, Lerner said he was going to "fuck him" by making his own Hercules movie and releasing it first.
- The Cannon renaissance is upon us as Firstenberg has provided a half dozen commentaries and the cult fan base is still alive and well.

Much more was talked about and several audience members who worked at the studio shared quick stories. One saying it was a truly harrowing yet educational experience that taught him more than any school ever could. It was a great night that put the spotlight on many unsung heroes of my cinematic upbringing. Now bring on Masters of the Universe!

The Action Elite Presents: Icons of Action

Last week, The Action Elite unveiled their top 70 list of the Best Action Heroes of All Time. Main man Eoin Friel enlisted the help of fellow writers, bloggers, screenwriters, directors and #MovieBros to chime in with write ups of their favorite heroes. I picked up two Jean-Claude Van Damme performances, first as Chance Boudreaux in John Woo's 1993 shooting, explosion and face kicking fest Hard Target at # 46 (ahead of Tom Cruise as Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt and behind Chuck Norris as Lone Wolf McQuade):

“Hunting season is over.”
While Jean-Claude Van Damme was never known for machine gun mayhem a la Stallone in Rambo or Schwarzenegger in Commando; Hard Target’s Chance Boudreaux comes dangerously close to pure action movie territory.
As a decorated former member of Marine Force Recon turned down on his luck sailor, Boudreaux stumbles into a deadly game put on by rich hunters. Their prey? Military veterans. When beautiful and smart yet out of her neighborhood lawyer Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) comes looking for her missing father, she uncovers the darker side of Dixie in the violent and seedy underworld of New Orleans.
Teaming with Chance, the pair take on the evil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen), his right hand man Pik van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo) and their small army of well-armed sportsmen (including Arnold’s buddy Sven-Ole Thorsen).
Recruiting Hong Kong action maestro John Woo for his first American film, Hard Target is full of violently slick, slow motion fight and shootout sequences that see Van Damme filling the bad guys with lead before finishing them off with a spinning hook kick to the face.
Like a greasy mullet’ed samurai in a denim shirt and tight jeans; J.C.V.D.’s Chance fights, chases and shoots it out with Fouchon’s crew using fists, pistols, shotguns, pigeons, gasoline, roundhouse kicks and one-liners. All of this while moto-surfing on a motorcycles standing up, outrunning a helicopter on horseback through Louisiana’s streets, back country and of course a warehouse to save the girl and take revenge for their dead comrades.
If that weren’t enough, Chance flexes his muscles, gets shot, doesn’t get burned by fire and drops a grenade down Fouchon’s pants during the explosion and bullet filled finale.

Followed by Frank Dux in the underground fighting epic Bloodsport at # 18 (ahead of Steven Seagal in Under Siege, suck it! And behind Robocop, respect.):

“You told me to use any technique that worked.  Never to limit myself to one style. To keep an open mind!”
The appeal of Bloodsport and Frank Dux is twofold.  The purported true story of a covert military operator who fights in secret no holds barred tournaments seemed tailor made for the big screen.  Especially an 80’s, Cannon Films produced flick starring a then unknown Jean-Claude Van Damme.
While many of Dux’s military and martial arts claims have been debunked, the tale of an underground competition to find the world’s supreme warrior and fighting champion has entertained and influenced a generation. From video game Street Fighter to Mixed Martial Arts giant the UFC, Bloodsport’s world warrior, style vs style inspiration lives on nearly 30 years later.
In J.C.V.D.’s breakthrough and signature role, the Muscles From Brussels combined his background in karate, weight training and ballet to create a powerful yet graceful onscreen presence that more than made up for his lack of acting experience.  As A.W.O.L. Air Force Captain Frank Dux, Van Damme puts his career and life on the line in order to fight in the Kumite, a full contact event held every five years.
With high kicks and the ability to do the splits at his disposal, Dux battles the best in karate, sumo and muy thai to try and be the best he can be while honoring his mentor and avenging fallen friends.
Whether enduring nearly inhuman physical training, doing the splits between two chairs, fighting blindly in the final match, running the streets of Hong Kong in a Mustard suit or telling another man “I love you my friend”; Jean-Claude Van Damme shows us how an action hero can be kick ass, yet sensitive.

It was a lot of fun and a pleasure to be included. The full list is fantastic and houses contributions from a spectrum of devoted action movie junkies. It skewed a little modern and of course male but John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton and Uma Thurman made it in while we could have used some Lee Marvin or Kirk Douglas for The Dirty Dozen and Spartacus. And Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese aka the Father of the Future!

Damme Words: Lee Marvin Point Blank

A few flights ago I purchased Charles Bronson: Menacing Face Worth Millions on my Amazon Kindle. They recommended I also look into Lee Marvin: Point Blank as it was on special for only a couple of bucks. Cut to my most recent flight to and from Oklahoma City and I finally cracked open Point Blank and polished it off in just a few sittings. Billed as the first full-length, authoritative and detailed account of the iconic actor's life, Point Blank is an incredibly entertaining and quick read on the great and gruff Lee Marvin. In short, Lee Marvin was a badass, an American man and a true individual. Dwayne Epstein goes way back in the Marvin family history to discuss ancestors with the same ornery, unique personality that Marvin would eventually inherit. Mainly in the form of a relative who embarked on a trek to the north pole and died in the cold. Marvin's father Lamont never did too well in life but served in both World War I and II.

Marvin's upbringing is highlighted by his troubles with authority and school. Today you could dub it Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia but back then he was just a shit starter. Bouncing around a dozen schools on the east coast, Marvin dropped out and signed up for the Marines during World War II. After participating in 21 invasion missions in the Pacific, Marvin was injured and had had enough of war. Back in New York and having already dabbled in acting, Marvin set out to land in a Broadway play. Forces would take him to Los Angeles where he slowly built up his career working for directors like Don Siegel, Fritz Lang, Raoul Walsh, John Sturges and Richard Fleischer before latching onto tough guy helmers Robert Aldrich, John Ford and John Boorman playing opposite the likes of Marlon Brando, Charles Bronson, Jack Palance and John Wayne. Frustrated at playing villains and second banana, Marvin hit leading man status at age 40 with western comedy Cat Ballou and would go on to win the Oscar for Best Actor. The 60's were Marvin's go-go years with The Killers, The Professionals, The Dirty Dozen, Point Blank and Paint Your Wagon highlighting his most lucrative era. Known for starring in violent pictures, Marvin never tried to glamorize action or death, feeling that as filmmakers they could show how horrible violence could be to dissuade audience members from enjoying it. Never setting out to be an actor-producer or director a la Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Steve McQueen or James Garner, Marvin was at the whim of Hollywood's ebbs and flows. The 70's and 80's saw him working but never at the same level as his peak. Notable roles in Emperor of the North, Prime Cut, The Iceman Cometh, The Big Red One, Death Hunt and The Delta Force were largely ignored by audiences and only embraced years later.

On the personal side, Point Blank delves into Marvin's tumultuous lifestyle of drinking and rabble rousing. There's plenty of pages devoted to his wife Betty, mistress Michelle and later wife Pam. Marvin's excessive drinking is present through his adult life with the man himself claiming if you gave him a bottle of any booze, he'd drain it himself before the night was through. Surprisingly, his drinking never affected his work too much. Many a witness states that Marvin could drink all night but once he was on set and cleaned up, he'd always give his best. Today we'd call it Post Traumatic Stress but for Marvin, painful memories of the war would manifest themselves after many a drink leading to violence in the forms of fighting or waving guns around before accidentally discharging them in the house. Marvin's candor was always appreciated by the press and his likeable yet terrifying demeanor is highlighted by crude come on's to women, picking on fellow actors to make them look bad or in one case, seeing his competition on Oscar night crying after losing. Marvin's solution? Getting his attention, smiling wide and showing off his statue.

There's a good deal of information surrounding the development, production and release of Marvin's films but I could have used a more facts, figures or interview snippets as each film gets maybe a couple pages. Tidbits like Marvin developing The Wild Bunch, selling it to Sam Peckinpah but then passing on the film to make Paint Your Wagon are great. As are his examples of telling it like it is. One great case is describing co-star Charles Bronson's less than sunny demeanor and constant droning about working in coal mines as a kid. Marvin would mock Bronson for not being in a mine for 30 years and riding around in a Rolls Royce. In a bid to cut down on the craziness of Hollywood and Malibu, Marvin and wife Pam moved to Tuscon, Arizona. Marvin loved to fish and would act occasionally to get out of the house. His last role was in Cannon Films' Chuck Norris hostage rescue vehicle, The Delta Force. After making a million bucks for Paint Your Wagon, Marvin allegedly accepted $50,000 for Force after the producers described it to him on the phone for 15 minutes, made a deal with his agent in 20 then shortly after put him on a plane where he shot the flick in 8 weeks. No fuss, no muss.

I was surprised to read that Marvin was only 63 when he died as he looked much older. Prematurely gray at 40, Marvin looks frail and weak in Delta Force from his years of drinking and 5 packs of cigarettes a day. Fading fast, Marvin was hospitalized in 1987, suffered a heart attack and died on August 29th after living a very full life. For any fan of Marvin or macho, honest films from the 50's and 60's, Point Blank is definitely a must read. Format wise, there's photos peppered through but nothing too rare and the content is actually only 200 of the 300 page length with the remaining 100 devoted to notes and index.

Ask Me a Question: The Interview

After all major theater chains decided not to screen The Interview due to potential cyber and physical terrorist attacks, independent owners pleaded with Sony to allow the film to play and let freedom reign.  Texas' Alamo Drafthouse chain reported sell outs at all of their 18 locations while The Downtown Independent, Cinefamily and The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles all picked up the film.  Sony made the film available online for $5.99 Christmas Eve while co-star, writer and director Seth Rogen and partner Evan Goldberg appeared at a midnight screening.  The American Cinematheque and Beyond Fest teamed up to bring the film to audiences for the original intended Christmas Day release and did not disappoint.  The packed house was treated to a DJ dropping beautiful 80's tunes from Rod Stewart, Motley Crue and Van Halen while clips of essential America in the vein of Rocky IV, wrestling, monster trucks, hot dog eating, Rambo, Chuck Norris, Red Dawn and American Idol contestants singing God Bless the U.S.A. got the audience patriotically pumped up.

I actually thought it was a dick move of Sony to release the film online Wednesday before the actual intended release Thursday and taking theaters' exclusive window.  After all, big boys like Cinemark, AMC, Pacific and Regal dropped the film like it had a disease, 330 independent houses are the ones who stepped up and asked to show the film.  I already wanted to see the movie so whether it was was good or bad didn't matter anymore, you had to support it as a movie lover I figured.

Before the film played, George Washington and The Statue of Liberty (traveling buddy act Grant & Christian) welcomed the audience while Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and co-stars Randall Park and Lizzy Caplan showed up to talk about the crazy, fucked up road of events, the maybe hack by North Korea and thanking everyone for attending.  Lizzy Caplan claimed she's never felt patriotic in her life but was starting to feel the love and asked the audience to join her in singing the national anthem as we all stood up and belted about rockets red glare and the home of the brave.  After that, Budweiser, tee shirts and tumblers were tossed into the crowd.  James Franco and his grandma appeared via video to thank everyone for showing up and it was time to roll the flick. 

The Interview is the story of schlock journalist Dave Skylark (James Franco), his best friend/producer Aaron Rapaport (Rogen) and their hit tabloid style show, Skylark Tonight.  After 1000 episodes covering the cool, weird, glamorous and seedy lifestyles of the rich and shameless, Rapaport wants to do something pertaining to real journalism.  A connection to Kim Jong-Un (Randall Park) is made and soon the duo is headed to North Korea to interview the world's most vicious and manipulative dictator.  The pair are then recruited by C.I.A. agent Lacey (Caplan) to assassinate Un while they're there.  Honey potting, honey dicking, poison strips, Bengal Tigers, tanks, Lord of the Rings, Katy Perry, booze, boobs and bro'ing out hijinks ensue.  Like action or horror, comedy films are best experienced with a crowd.  Sitting at home watching it on TV or your laptop where you're easily distracted or sitting alone just doesn't work that well for the yuks to me.  I had a good time with The Interview, Franco and Rogen have a nice dynamic with the former playing half homosexual/half debauched soul as the flamboyant, dim witted TV personality who gets celebrities to open up to him and the former being the straight guy looking for a little credibility.  There's dick, fart and homosexual jokes galore but nothing too offensive and they're delivered with such zeal that you can't help but laugh.  Skylark's constant use of "Ain'ters gonna ain't" and "they hate us cause they ain't us" are sure to become this years "Don't be a don'ter, do be a doer" and "I'm a doer!" here on Dammaged Goods.

Surprisingly, there's some well shot action in the piece with a tank, helicopter, troops, etc so maybe we'll see Rogen and Goldberg being handed the reigns to a big budget action comedy someday.  The trailers give away many of the cameos but there's a great one at the start I had no idea was coming.  I was actually surprised at the lack of cameos given how many famous faces showed up in This Is The End but I guess there's not much you can do when half the film takes place in North Korea. 

While the situation with Sony is truly shitty and I'm eagerly awaiting to find out who really hacked them, it turned a regular night at the movies into one hell of a special event.  U-S-A!  U-S-A!

What the Chuck?! Walker, Texas Ranger VS The Black Dragons

Speaking of TV reunions, a random episode of Walker, Texas Ranger was Chuck full of them this week. I'm always surprised when people don't know Chuck Norris was a movie star before becoming a TV staple and internet hero.  As a Karate Man I was always aware of Norris' show Walker, Texas Ranger but never really watched it regularly while it was on.  I knew it was popular, had 2 spin offs and ran for a solid 8 years.  Today, reruns are on a couple different channels and I'm catching up.  While people claim this is the golden age of television, all I see are a bunch of sad sack looking mother f*ckers, talking heads and story lines that should only take up 1 episode stretched out to 10 and still not resolving jack sh*t.  In 5 minutes of one episode of Walker there were Hummers, shootouts, trucks chasing a plane, a fight inside the plane, a guy thrown out of the plane with no parachute, Walker rescuing the guy in midair and then landing with a smile and bro-hug.  No wonder I find much of today's television boooooring.

Black Dragons, episode 18 of 2000's final season (weird, I was just talking about episode 18 from The Flash...), is the tale of P.K. Song (Street Fighter & American Dragons' Byron Mann), a vicious heroin dealer who threatens any that would oppose him and assaults Ranger Francis Gage (Judson Mills) when he tries to intervene in a heated argument.  Mann is a solid actor with quiet charisma and a scary villainous side honed from playing a ruthless and violent assassin in Dragons and as a violent and ruthless gangster in the Chow Yun-Fat/Mark Wahlberg flick The Corrupter.  Turns out P.K.'s father Edward is a diplomat (mutha fudging Mako! View In Peace) so the bad guy has immunity.  Mako actually played a completely different role 3 years earlier on the show and co-starred opposite Norris in 1981's An Eye For An Eye and 1992's SIDEKICKS!  We learn that P.K. is working for The Black Dragons, a hardcore sect of the Chinese Triad who set up drug smuggling during The Vietnam War and are still bringing product in through Dallas.  Does this sound like an awesome TV mash up of Lethal Weapon 1&2 to anyone else?!  Then we get a Mortal Kombat connection as Shang TSung himself, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa shows up as P.K.'s drug smuggling boss Master Ko and yoked out Deron McBee (Motaro from MK: Annihilation & Malibu from American Gladiators) as pre-Dog the Bounty Hunter looking local dealer Luke.  If that weren't enough, Magnum P.I.'s Larry Manetti shows up as a low level street crook and informant while Enter the Dragon villain and Karate Hall of Famer Bob Wall gets his neck twisted as a security guard.  Phew!  Oh and the dude who breaks his own neck from Showdown In Little Tokyo plays P.K.'s homeboy driver.  Damme!

Walker and partner Jimmy Trivette (Die Hard's Clarence Gilyard, Jr.) along with Gage and female ranger Sydney Cooke (Nia Peeples) figure out P.K.'s racket and dad Edward relents, removing his son's immunity and letting the law do it's thing.  Of course much karate fighting is involved and we get not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR final showdowns of hand to hand combat.  Norris and Tagawa mix it up in a living room with lots of wrist locks and sweeps while Gage and P.K. duke it out in the grassy back yard with punches and kicks, Trivette and Luke smash up the kitchen while Cooke wrecks some random ass dude who isn't in a bunch of action movies outside in the driveway.  We all know that Norris is a badass and a true martial artist but there's a lot of stunt man work in the fight scenes here.  Angles from behind are always a dead giveaway as are the super fast high kicks.  Byron Mann's double looks shorter and a lot wider taking the falls of the grassy bout.  We get lots of kicks of the front, hook and jump spinning back variety and ya know, nobody gets shot too boot.

Expendables Week: Mel Gibson

Aw yeah baby, let's keep this Expendables train rolling.  While it's been the main selling point and punch line of the franchise, the gathering of action heroes and cinematic leading men of the 80's and 90's has garnered a cool $575 million bucks at the world wide box office alone.  Throw in rentals, sales, TV and other ancillary rights and The Expendables is most likely a billion dollar brand already.  I'm pretty sure Sylvester Stallone is the only actor to ever sustain 3 franchises and has now successfully headlined films for five consecutive decades.  If you'll recall, part I gave us fellow throwback leading men like Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke along with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  The sequel recruited Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris so the only 90's action star missing was Steven Seagal.  For the threequel, Seagal was still out so Stallone and the producers branched out to recruit 80's and 90's staples who dabbled effortlessly between dramatic and physical roles, landing Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes.

Playing former Expendable turned adversary Conrad Stonebanks, Mel Gibson continues his Hollywood return following a rough few years.  I love the guy and his work so it will be interesting to see how the next several years play out in this town of hypocrites and judgers.  Now let's look back at some of the flicks that led Gibson to joining The Expendables franchise:

Mad Max, 1979 - The role that launched a career, Gibson played Australian policeman Max Rockatansky, out for revenge against a sadistic motorcycle gang in a dystopian future.  I didn't grow up with Mad Max and honestly haven't seen it more than once.  Same goes for the beloved sequel The Road Warrior and third installment, Beyond Thunderdome.  But it was Gibson's first hit, a franchise and arguably most identifiable role until...

Lethal Weapon, 1987 - Now we're talking.  As wild eyed, suicidal, action junkie policeman Martin Riggs, Gibson deftly combines equal parts crazy, heart and physical in a signature role that would lead to a decade of imitators and clichés.  Partnered up with the family man, ready to retire but still a badass Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), the duo took on mercenaries, South African diplomats, crooked cops and the Chinese mafia over 4 action packed and hilarious entries that grossed nearly $1 billion dollars at the global box office alone.  Director Richard Donner and Gibson would ultimately collaborate on 6 films: 4 Lethal Weapons, Conspiracy Theory and...

Maverick, 1994 - An update of the James Garner western television series, the film finds Gibson as a smooth talking yet confrontation averting gambler on his way to a big game worth $250,000 bucks in old timey money.  A nice mix of humor and six shooting, horse riding action, Gibson shines as the charming yet somewhat shady Bret Maverick and looks to be having a ball along with co-stars Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene and James Coburn.

Braveheart, 1995 - Would you believe I've never actually seen Gibson's 2nd directorial effort that netted 10 Academy Award nominations and won the man statues for Best Picture and Director?  Sure, I know all about the "Freeeeedom!" and whatnot but for whatever reason this flick just passed me by in 1995 and I've never revisited it even though I own it on DVD.  I feel a film of this historic, epic scale needs to be witnessed on the big screen so I'll have to wait for it to come back around.

Ransom, 1996 - Playing a businessman instead a cop or warrior, Gibson acquits himself nicely as a dedicated dad just trying to get his son back in this 90's thriller.  A handsomely produced picture with a stellar supporting cast including Lethal Weapon co-star Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, Gary Sinise, Liv Schreiber, Lili Taylor and Donnie Wahlberg.  Ron Howard delivers a solid for adults flick with real life implications on the horror of what it must be like to have your child abducted and then delivers the movie goods when dad won't play victim and goes after the kidnappers.

Payback, 1998 - A modern version of Donald E. Westlake's novel, The Hunter, Payback is a moody, stylish noir action flick that finds Gibson as Porter, a thief double crossed by his partner and left for dead.  Once recovered, he threatens, punches, blackmails, shoots, crashes and kidnaps his way up the local crime chain in search of his stolen $70,000.  A troubled production that saw writer/director Brian Helgeland fired days after winning an Oscar, seamless reshoots still add up to an edgy, dark, funny and violent time with another great supporting cast that includes Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger, John Glover, Lucy Liu, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn.

The Patriot, 2000 - A change of pace from masters of disaster Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, The Patriot has Gibson as a former soldier living peaceably as a farmer and father in the days of The Revolutionary War.  When an evil Brit kills one of his sons and arrests another, it's time for Benjamin Martin to open up a chest of whup ass...and muzzle loading rifles...and tomahawks!  Seriously, the scene of Martin rescuing son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) is one of the best examples of movie fathering I've ever seen.  He places two of his younger sons on high ground and has them take out the troops from afar while dad goes in double fisting blades.  Of course there's more to the role and film than that as Gibson gives a serious and nurturing performance as a dad just trying to keep his family together.  But when you BLEEP with him, he'll BLEEP with you, hard!

Edge of Darkness, 2010 - Gibson's first starring role in 7 years following directing the mammoth hit The Passion of the Christ and experiencing the first of several public incidents, Edge has him in full on Liam Neesons mode for a dark, stark and shocking tale of revenge and corporate conspiracy.  When his daughter is murdered, Detective Craven uncovers her secret activist life and a local weapons manufacturers dirty dealings.  Action is sparse but well used to jolt the audience and Gibson again does a solid job of playing a stern yet sympathetic character just looking for the truth.

Of course shout outs go to Gibson's other fantastic work in flicks like Hamlet, Forever Young, Chicken Run, What Women Want, Signs and The Beaver among many more but you don't want to read my musings on all of those and they don't have much to do with an explosive, tough guy reunion a la The Expendables.  A mix of handsome, charming, funny, crazed, physical and slightly off balance, it was quite an arc for the New York born but discovered in Australia actor to go from Mad Max to Lethal Weapon to Hamlet before seguing into an award winning director and producer.  Adjusted for inflation, Gibson has fifteen $100 million grossing titles and two franchises to his name along with being one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, banking $25 million per picture at his peak.